Ask any guy or girl in their 30’s about cartoons from their childhood and you’ll get an endless list of favorites which Hollywood wants to use to pad their coffers. While we have seen some effects-driven representations that have generated tons of interest, it seems that most times the deviations from the source material do more harm than good. Either the films bastardize the stories or worse, only share a name at most. Recently, many of my fellow 80’s & 90’s babies have been vocal about the new reimagining of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles at the hands of Michael Bay and most of their commentary has been negative. I sadly can’t blame them, since the rumored reimagining wants to make our favorite heroes in a half-shell aliens instead of mutants. While I can join them in their commentary, I have decided instead to dig in the closet of old memories and talk about ‘toons from our childhood that I think would do well on the big screen. This list is in no particular order, so please don’t get your panties in a bunch.
10. M.A.S.K
Transforming cars that would have benefited from the “Bay” treatment. It was broadcast from 1985-1986 and honestly would probably do well just from automotive product placements alone.
9. Bionic Six
Not every cartoon needed ultra-violence growing up. If there is a market for films like Spy Kids then you know kids would embrace the Bionic Six. Not sure about going live action with this one, but again it would be something different.
8.Inhumanoids
If people could sit through Cloverfield then they would definitely check out Inhumanoids. Subterranean monsters trying to enslave the human race and humans uniting with other monsters to stop it? Definitely sounds better than sitting through another lame Adam Sandler film.
7. Silverhawks
While some considered this a Thundercats ripoff, it actually had great animation and awesome villains. Monstar was one of the most well-designed villains alongside guys like Mumm-Ra and Cobra Commander. May not work in live action, but definitely would in CGI.
6. Galtar and the Golden Lance
Hanna-Barbera was a great company that gave us tons of memorable characters. While people will always talk about the awesome Pirates of Dark Water I personally feel that Galtar had a more cohesive story and was the foundation for Pirates of Dark Water.
5. Jonny Quest
While not necessarily an 80’s cartoon, Jonny Quest saw much airtime in my house and with the debut of the Cartoon Network I got to enjoy all the great stories it had. Hollywood had originally planned on bringing this the big screen with Zac Efron rumored to be playing Jonny and The Rock playing Race Bannon. While I am sure it will eventually get made, I think it would be another great franchise for kids. However, I think Zac Efron is a bit old to play Jonny at this point.
4. Gargoyles
This is the gold standard of Disney cartoons in my opinion. With fantastic stories and excellent voice work, it is truly a shame that Disney hasn’t found a way to bring this back. I know tons of kids would enjoy hearing Goliath’s booming voice on the silver screen. It was a great homage to New York City and the stories were mature enough to be enjoyed by all audiences.
3. Centurions
One of my all time favorites with some of the coolest toys. Here’s a film that, if done right, would make tons of money. Feel free to throw in as many explosions as you like. Just make sure to include all the awesome weapons and we’ll be fine.
How awesome would it be to see some these weapons created for the big screen?
2. Thundercats
I don’t need to write a reason – this just needs to get done. If you want to cite the new cartoon I can live with that, but seeing this on the big screen would definitely be appreciated by younger generation.
1. Voltron
With all the great special effects showcased in the Transformers films, no film on this list would benefit from the technology we have now more than Voltron. Imagine seeing this in IMAX!
Well, that wraps up the 10 ‘toons I’d like to see on the big screen. I am sure many of you have your own suggestions and I’d love to hear them – so feel free to sound off in the comments below or on our Facebook fan page.
Mega Man, anyone?
@KILLARKAY Mega Man would be great to see but definitely not live action
@MTRHost Agreed, live action Mega Man gives me the chills.
Jem lol my sisters was jem crazy back then
Andrea is onto something with Jem. Could be the next Hannah Montana franchise (in terms of sales). As for Voltron, I want to see a lesser known robot that might be the only one with a better transformation sequence than the lion force: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=We64MdsqIeo
Inhumanoids would be sick! Gargyles would be violent as all hell. And Andrea is on to something with Jem. Would not be a flick for me, but wirte some catchy tunes and a half-decent plot and you have a franchise bigger than Hannah Montana on your hands. And as much as I love Voltron, fuck that, I say “GO! MIGHTY ORBOTS!”
I kind of want to see a lie action Jem movie, just to see the crazy outfits and hair brought to life. That said, you said Voltron in IMAX and I got shivers envisioning it. That needs to happen, as long as Michael Bay stays faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaar away from it.
It would be real cool to see a live action Space Ghost with a dark story line. Something like he causes the death of Jan or Jace and has to deal with the consequences. While trying to save the universe again. yada yada yada
i loved battle of the planets when i was a kid then found out about g force on the cartoon network like you then found out that it was a watered down american version compared to the japanese one gatchaman
Nice!! I remember getting introduced to G-Force on the Cartoon Network Juvon
G-Force .Gatchaman, Battle of the planets? which ever one works
I almost put Brave Star there David. Forgot about RoboTech but I didn’t watch it a lot when I was younger. Thanks for sharing.
Brave Star – RoboTech